TOMMY: CCS MUST BECOME A FORTRESS

Tommy Smith says that making Cardiff City Stadium a fortress will be key to a successful season ahead of Blackpool's visit on Saturday.

"Home form will be vital this season if we're going to stay at the top of the League," said the attacking midfielder. "Of course, it's then combining that with picking up points where we can on the road.

"We spoke a lot about the goals we conceded at Palace, but there were positives that came from the game as well. We scored two good goals and created a few other chances, but obviously it was a very disappointing way to lose the game. We were sucker-punched and never recovered from it. We're still learning out strengths and weaknesses and there's plenty to work on."

In reference to Blackpool's home defeat to Huddersfield on Monday night, Tommy commented: "I was a bit taken a back by how open the second half was. Blackpool like to play that way, they're a good footballing team, so we'd expect them to play in a similar way on Saturday. We know about them and their threats; they'll be a handful going forward, but our defensive form at home as been great.

"We had a little run going into the Palace game, were beaten, and now draw a line underneath that. There's a three-game block now going into the next international break and it's important that we hit form again."